The present invention relates generally to electric fans and more particularly to oscillating type electric fans.
Oscillating fans are well known in the art and commonly used to circulate air. Examples of oscillating fans may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,341,220, U.S. Pat. No. 2,725,184 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,811,304. These fans generally include a rotatable fan unit which is arranged to oscillate about a vertical axis and which is mounted on a stand or pedestal for tilting movement backward and forward about a horizontal axis. The tilting movement in a forward direction is usually limited to about 20 degrees downward beyond the horizontal since any further tilting will probably cause the fan to topple over due to its center of gravity.
Oscillating fans are packed for storage and shipping in either an assembled or dissassembled state. The problem with packing the fan in the assembled state is that even when tilted forward it still takes up a lot of space (volume). The problem with packing the fan in the dissassembled state is that it is often very difficult and time consuming to correctly assemble the unit.
The present invention solves the aformentioned problems by providing a fan which can be tilted back and forth about a first arcuate distance for normal use but which when desired, such as for storage or shipping, can be easily tilted beyond the normal range to a folded or collapsed position. The invention achieves this by providing a fan including a flexible clip which is disposed between the lower part of the fan and the upper part, the upper part being tiltable relative to the lower part. In normal use the clip serves as a stop which limits the downward tilting movement of the fan. By manually flexing the clip upward, however, the fan can be tilted beyond the normal angle to a folded down or collapsed position.
According, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved electric fan.
It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved oscillating fan.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a new and improved oscillating fan which can be tilted backward and forward.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a new and improved oscillating fan which can be tilted backward and forward and which includes an arrangement for selectively limiting the angle of tilt.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a oscillating fan which can be selectively tilted to a collapsed position for storage purposes.